


No Matter What

by violetbear



Series: Two worlds collide [6]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: After the Battle for Meridian, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 21:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13983663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetbear/pseuds/violetbear
Summary: Reyes visits Scott's bedside after Meridian.





	No Matter What

Reyes couldn’t believe what he was doing. Stepping foot on Initiative soil was something he thought he’d never do again.

“Can I help you”, a man wearing Initiative garb asked him, looking him up and down with a sneer.  
The dirt and assorted fluids that had accumulated on his clothes from the battle fell to the clean floor as he shifted his stance. The feeling of not belonging anywhere returned to him with a vengeance. This wasn’t Kadara. This was Meridian. This was Scott’s world. No, not Scott. The Pathfinder.  
“Med bay”, he said, thankful his voice sounded confident still. “Where is it?”  
“No exiles are in there. Your people would be-“  
“Reyes?”

He turned to see Scott’s second coming out of a room. He didn’t get a good look inside as the door closed tight on her heels.  
“Lieutenant, you look...” He eyed the blood and grime covered armour and the fatigue visible in her eyes. “Alive.”  
“That I am. The whole team is. Plus all the other Pathfinders. Most of us only have minor cuts and bruises. Captain Dunn has a concussion but it could have been much worse.”  
“We got lucky.”  
“Very. Thanks to the efforts of one person in particular.”  
“Scott.” He remembered watching Scott walk back to the Tempest. How he had collapsed on the ramp once everyone’s attention was off him. “Where is he? How is he?”

The smile left Cora’s face.  
“Still breathing.” She laid a hand on his arm and started to guide him somewhere. “Let’s go sit down. He’ll be fine. He’s got the best-“  
“Cora, please.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Tell me the truth.”  
“All I know is what I heard them saying as they worked on him before I got kicked out.”  
“And that is?”  
She looked at the ground.  
“His heart is beating too fast. They’re trying to slow it. At the same time, he’s not breathing right. They were going to intubate him as I left.”  
“That’s... Not good. Anything else?”  
“They scanned his brain. There’s...” She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. He held her as what he knew were quiet sobs from her shook them both.  
“How bad”, he asked as she pulled away, wiping her eyes.  
“Bleeding. Burns.”  
“On his brain?”  
“They think it’s something to do with interacting with the remnant. They don’t know yet how it will affect Scott.”

“I need to...” He started toward the room he saw Cora exit but she grabbed his arm and stopped him.  
“The door is locked. Select medical personnel only.”  
“He needs me.”  
“He’s unconscious. Has been since he hit the ramp. SAM has him but they’re still not sure he’ll...”  
Reyes tried to quell the fear welling up inside him. Scott had to pull through. He had to be okay. This wasn’t how things were suppose to end. Scott had defeated the bad guy. He had saved the cluster. The Initiative couldn’t lose him now. Reyes couldn’t lose him. He didn’t know how he would continue if he did.  
“What can I do”, he asked, running a hand through his hair. “Cora, I can’t just stand here. I need to...”  
“I know. Come on.” She wrapped an arm around him and started toward the tram. “Join us. We’re hanging out in his quarters. We have to believe Scott will pull through. He always has before.”  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Hey, Scott”, he whispered, gripping his hand tight. “You did it.” The quiet was only broken by the quiet beeping and various other noises from the equipment around them. Harry, Lexi, and the other medics had left them alone for the moment. “Saved the cluster. Defeated the Archon.” He kissed Scott’s forehead, brushing aside a stray hair. “Just need to do one more thing, my love. Open your eyes for me.”

It had been a week since the Archon’s defeat. And Scott was still unconscious. He had finally been upgraded to stable status after a couple close calls. His heart had almost stopped twice but each time they managed to stabilize him again. He still wasn’t breathing by himself. But he was alive. And SAM had fully reconnected to him. Now only time would tell. Time and...

“SAM?”  
“Hello, Reyes.”  
“How is he?”  
“We almost lost him. We almost lost both of them.”  
“How is Sara?”  
“Still in a medically induced coma for a couple more days. She should make a full recovery.”  
“How bad was it?” He ran a finger down Scott’s arm. “They said his brain...”  
“Scarring on the occipital lobe and-“  
“Skip the science, SAM.”  
“Bad. If I had been unable to reconnect... I’m also connected to Sara. When she wakes up, I will disconnect.”  
“But not Scott. Can you ever?”  
“No. I am a permanent part of Scott now. I disconnect and he dies.”

“What?” He gently laid a finger over Scott’s temple. Everything still felt the same. “Why?”  
“His autonomic nervous system is damaged beyond repair.”  
“Pretend I skipped the day that was brought up.”  
“It’s what tells your body to breathe, your heart to beat, your-“  
“Okay, I got it. All the things we do without thinking about them.”  
“Correct.”  
“Damaged how?”  
“The nerve connections are-“  
“Dummy talk, SAM.”  
“His body won’t breathe on its own. The machine goes and...”  
“He dies.” He looked at Scott’s chest, watching it go up and down. It had to keep doing that. He couldn’t lose him.

“The council is meeting to decide what to do.”  
“What’s to decide?”  
“Let him go or-“  
“No!” He gripped Scott’s hand tight. “He can’t die. I need him. I love him. I can’t lose him.”  
“I feel the same.”  
”They can’t...” He swiped at the tears on his face. “You said or. What’s the or, SAM?”  
“I can take over. I can replace his nervous system.”  
“Why haven’t you already?”  
“Some of the council have expressed concerns over how much control of Scott this would give me. They believe-“  
“Screw what they think. It shouldn’t be up to them. It should be Scott’s decision.”  
“I agree.”  
“Scott would...” He looked at his sweet boy, lying there so still. Was he sure of this or was it just what he wanted. “Would Scott still be the same?"  
“I believe so. Some of this is guess work."

“What do you think, SAM?”  
“They say my opinion is-“  
“I don’t care what they think. I care what you think. Would Scott want to live? Would he be okay with you helping him that way?”  
“I believe Scott would want to live. As long as you still loved him the way he was.”  
“Of course I would still love him. I’ve never stopped. I would be lost without him. I was lost before him.”  
“Scott is going to need your assistance.”  
“Anything he needs, I’ll be there.”  
“No, now.”

Alarms started to sound from the machines. Scott opened his eyes and started to choke. His hand went to his throat, his eyes to Reyes.  
“Hold on, Scott. SAM, how do I...”  
“Just pull the tube out.”  
He did so. Scott coughed a couple of times before beginning to breathe normally.  
“Reyes”, he gasped.  
“It’s okay, Scott.” He laid a hand on his arm. “I’m right here. I’m not leaving you.”  
He was pushed out of the room by the medics who heard the alarms and rushed in. He placed a hand on the door as it closed in front of him.  
“No matter what. I love you.”


End file.
